The EU has finalized the dual-track design of the digital euro, with both the online and offline versions being advanced simultaneously.

The Council of the European Union ( has recently officially expressed its support for the digital euro design blueprint proposed by the European Central Bank ) ECB (, and agreed that the digital euro will be launched with both an “online version” and a “privacy-focused offline version”. It will next enter the deliberation stage of the EU legislative body.

The digital euro is advancing in both online and offline versions, expanding the flexibility of digital payments.

According to the latest document from the Council of the European Union, the Council has clearly endorsed the overall design direction of the ECB regarding the digital euro and aligns with the Central Bank's position, meaning that the digital euro will plan for both online and offline versions and launch them simultaneously.

This means that in the future, if the digital euro is officially launched, the public will be able to use it not only in online environments but also for transactions in offline settings, expanding the flexibility of digital payment usage. In the future, after the legal framework is passed, it will be up to the ECB to decide whether to issue it. Currently, the ECB has stated that the digital euro may be activated before 2029.

The Central Bank's design is complete, and the legislation returns to the political level.

ECB President Christine Lagarde also pointed out in the relevant explanation that the Central Bank has completed the design at the institutional and technical levels, and the next key factor lies not with the ECB, but with the political and legislative processes of the European Union.

She stated that further discussions will be continued by the Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament will evaluate whether the proposals put forward by the European Commission are sufficiently complete, whether they need amendments, and whether they should be formally transformed into legally binding EU legislation.

Offline design axis, privacy-oriented quasi-cash mechanism

In terms of institutional positioning, offline digital euro is set as a digital payment tool that is closer to cash, with the core goal of reducing the possibility of transactions being tracked and analyzed. The document points out that traditional digital payment systems often leave transaction records that can be analyzed, whereas the design of the offline digital euro aims to prevent third parties from linking multiple transactions to the same user, thereby enhancing transaction privacy.

Further, offline transaction data will not be sent back to the central system, but will only be retained on the devices of the trading parties. In practice, offline digital euros will be transacted through certified devices with built-in security components, with digitally signed euros stored in the device by the Central Bank being directly transferred between the parties' devices, primarily for use in face-to-face payment scenarios.

Offline digital euro still cannot fully equate to cash, as technical limitations emerge.

However, the document also candidly states that requiring both parties to be physically proximate in a digital environment is not a condition that can be reliably enforced.

The document points out the so-called “Relay Attack” ) risk, explaining that attackers may set up proxy devices near both the payment end and the receiving end, extending the originally short-range communication signals through the network, allowing transactions originally designed to be completed face-to-face to actually be conducted over a distance.

In this regard, the European Council admits that the preventive measures currently available are quite limited. In the digital currency system, it is difficult to require transactions to be conducted “face-to-face” in a stable manner, and it cannot fully replicate the transaction characteristics of “physical contact” like cash.

The document also explains that while the offline digital euro is designed for high privacy, it is not equivalent to completely anonymous physical cash. The relevant private keys and assets must be stored in the secure element of certified mobile devices or smart cards. This means that the offline digital euro is essentially still a digital payment tool regulated and managed by the system.

( EU Accelerates Digital Euro Project: Considering Issuance on Ethereum or Solana to Compete with Dollar Stablecoins )

This article discusses the EU's decision on the dual-track design of the digital euro, with both online and offline versions being advanced simultaneously, first appearing in Chain News ABMedia.